Sunday, August 9, 1998 Last modified at 1:27 a.m. on Sunday, August 9, 1998

Ten of 11 U.S. bombing victims named

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Clara Aliganga was not thrilled about her son going to Africa, but he seemed to love his job so.

"He was just so proud to be a Marine," Mrs. Aliganga said of her son, Marine Sgt. Jesse N. Aliganga.

"He was so proud he made it through boot camp at Parris Island," she said referring to the South Carolina boot camp. "It was something he was really good at."

Aliganga, 21, was one of two Florida people killed in the bombing attack Friday in Nairobi, where he served in the Marine Security Unit. The Pentagon also said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Sherry Lynn Olds, 40, of Panama City, was among at least 11 Americans killed in the blast.

At least 147 people died when terrorist bombs exploded at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Thousands more were injured. No Americans were believed to be among the seven killed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Army had already identified Sgt. Kenneth R. Hobson II, 27, of Nevada, Mo. as one of the victims.

Relatives identified two other victims as Arlene Kirk, 50, of South Bend, Ind., who worked for the Air Force, and Molly Huckaby Hardy, 51, of Valdosta, Ga., a 26-year veteran of the State Department.

Also killed were Jay Bartley, son of Consul General Julian Bartley; Prabhi Kavaler, of the general services office; Tom Shah of the political section; Jean Dalizu, of the defense attache's office; and Michelle O'Connor, who worked for the General Services Office.

The eleventh casualty has not been identified.

"The United States lost a very important person and a lot of people are going to be affected by it," Olds' younger sister, Marsey Cornett, told The News-Herald of Panama City. "She led a very fulfilled life. The family is very proud."

Aliganga joined the Marines shortly after graduating from high school in Tallahassee in 1994. He had agreed to a 30-month extension last year on his original three-year enlistment.

"I wasn't particularly fond of the idea when he had put in for Nairobi," Mrs. Aliganga said. "But I stood behind my children 100 percent, whatever their decision."

Arlene Kirk, a civilian who worked as an accountant in the Air Force budget department, had just returned to Kenya with her husband after spending leave in the United States. Robert Kirk was not injured. Arlene Kirk is survived by a 14-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter.

"She was a terrific mother and wife. She was just a very supportive person, whatever was happening," her brother, Dennis Bradley of Chicago, said.

Ms. Hardy, a 26-year State Department veteran, originally was to return to the United States from Nairobi on June 15, but had to wait for a replacement first, said longtime friend Marsha Bates.

"We were anxiously awaiting her to come home," she said. "I had just finished a new house and thought, 'As soon as Molly comes home, I'm going to make sure she comes over and spends one night so we can talk all night like we used to."'

Meanwhile, Susan Bryson of Lawrenceville, east of Atlanta, was informed that her missing sister, Louise Martin of Atlanta, who would have turned 46 on Tuesday, had been killed.

Ms. Martin worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Kenya, along with her husband Douglas Klaucke.

"I still don't believe it's real," Mrs. Bryson told WSB-TV. "The only thing, she died in a country she loved, she died doing the things she liked ... she's left behind so many people who loved her."